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Police chief's convicted wife held after attempting suicide

The embattled wife of Oceanside’s police chief has been taken into the custody following a suicide attempt last month after she was convicted of shooting at police during a standoff.

Brinda Sue McCoy, 49, was released from Los Alamitos Medical Center late Thursday, arrested and taken by ambulance to the jail ward of the Western Medical Center in Anaheim.

Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino says she was in critical condition when transported but that her condition is improving. McCoy is being housed in her own room and is under 24-hour surveillance by medical staff.

McCoy, whose husband is the former mayor of Cypress, was convicted last month of firing his handgun at police officers during a Dec. 16, 2010, standoff.

Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno later released her on $250,000 bail pending her Sept. 10 sentencing, with strict instructions for her to follow if she wanted to stay out of jail.

Just two days later, McCoy was found bleeding in her backyard by Cypress police officers, who began performing “life-saving measures.”

Authorities said nobody else was involved in the June 24 incident when McCoy was found injured in the backyard of the home.

After her hospitalization, Briseno issued a court order revoking her conditional release and ordering her arrest on a no-bail warrant.

Officials says it’s unlikely she will be released before her Sept. 10 sentencing.

“She was released once on bail, and for her own safety she’s not going to be let out again,” Amormino said.

McCoy faces a maximum sentence of 29 years in prison for the conviction, after her 2010 call to Cypress police prompted a 90-minute standoff during which she fired two shots. No officers were injured.

During the trial, McCoy testified that she was in a suicidal spiral after an argument with her husband, fueled by prescription pills and martinis. She testified that she thought if she summoned police to her house, they might shoot and kill her.